[WSIS CS-Plenary] Digital Solidarity Fund in risk of disappearing: action required

[Ken Lohento]

Thank you for this message Daniel. It's just a pity that situation. As 
you're also saying, I'm not sure UNDP or ITU will like to take over 
responsibility so easily on what has become a "patate chaude" as we say 
in French, even if they were called upon. Symbolically, it will be also 
a pity if that initiative fails, as it was indeed the (most?) concrete 
WSIS outcome for developing countries at least, even though it was not 
an initiative supported by all. Do you know why is the audit delayed?

Regards

Ken L

 Daniel Pimienta a écrit :
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> Dear colleagues,
>
> I shall report on the critical situation of the Digital Solidarity 
> Fund (DSF) in my quality of Latin America & Caribbbean civil society 
> member of the Board. I wish to report in the WSIS civil society 
> plenary list as well as in G at ID discussion list, in the hope to 
> trigger some positive dynamics in both communities (and I am also 
> informing the DSF Board of that initiative).
>
> The last couple of months have been of acute crisis after a change in 
> the DSF Presidency and coordinated complains from the new DSF 
> President and the President of Senegal (speaking as "historical 
> father") on General Secretary management: basically they do not trust 
> the 1% principle could be effective and wish a centering and hosting 
> of the DSF on Africa, as an ICT4D project management organization.
>
> On November 25th a stormy General Assembly was held in Lyon (France) 
> and was unable to reach consensus on further steps. An extraordinary 
> Assembly was then scheduled in Bamako, January 27th, 2009. More 
> confused than stormy this Assembly decided that a strategical and 
> finance independant audit shall be organized and its results 
> presented to a last extraordinary Assembly to be scheduled prior to 
> May 27th. This last Assembly would finally decide on the proposition 
> of the President of Senegal to take over the management of the DSF 
> (he was also given the responsibility to contract this audit and 
> manage the interim period).
>
> The investment made so far has reached some 6 millions of euros (a 
> substantial part coming from developing countries) and one of the 
> argument for not letting go the situation was the responsibility to 
> protect that invested capital (which is no more in cash but hopefully 
> some part has transformed into people and project experiences and 
> institutional moves). Furthermore, it appears that the cashflow would 
> allow to stand until the next Assembly but no more.
>
> The situation as of today is that the audit has apparently not been 
> launched and the risk is extremely high, due to the shortness of 
> cashflow, that the DSF will just fade out without any decision taken 
> and no audit results presented. This could be the worst scenario for 
> one of the most concrete products the WSIS process has tried to 
> launch and a shameful situation for our ICT4D community in regard to 
> the lost investment...
>
> In that context, I want to call upon global civil society to put 
> pressure on stakeholders in order to try to save whatever is possible 
> from the disaster. I am wondering, given the particular situation, if 
> the best approach would not be to try to convince a UN related structure to
> take over the DSF, conduct an audit which appears a mandatory 
> requirement (if only for accountability of public money invested!) 
> and assess the situation, trying to preserve, as far as possible, the 
> initial principles (multistakeholder global fund to overcome the 
> digital divide based on innovative sources).
>
> ITU, G at ID or UNDP (which has been out of that field for some years 
> now) are possible options. I am not sure that any of them is eager to 
> take over a project in such a difficult situation; what I am quite 
> sure is that it is my duty as a civil society involved actor to 
> alert, inform and contribute to the search for a solution (I shall 
> also remember as a possible contribution that Agence de la 
> Francophonie had offered during the DSF Board debates to take 
> responsibility to contract an audit of the DSF... although it was 
> decided to do it another way).
>
> Daniel Pimienta
> Networks & Development Foundation
> http://funredes.org
> Member of APC Network
> As LA&C civil society member of the DSF Board
>
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